Idol Hangover: The Three to See

Well, the season’s shaping up as most predicted. How shocking. With Michael’s elimination, viewers took care of what was left unfinished when the judges used their save after the top 9 performed. With that said, Mike’s survival from #9 to #4 is a pretty impressive feat. Last season, Matt Giraud only managed to make it two more weeks after the judges spared him. Perhaps there’s a future in music for Mike? Probably not, but we’ll have to wait and see.

Bye bye, big Mike. via Flickr

1. Lee Dewyze – He was weak this week, but luckily for Lee, American Idol viewers vote based performers’ track record over the full season and not off of a single night’s success or failure. However, if he follows up this week’s poor performance with another next week, the finale could end up being a tough uphill battle for him. We’ll give him the benefit of the doubt that everyone has an off week, and count this one as his. Notice I said “week” singular – not “weeks” plural. (same as last week)

2. Crystal Bowersox – Critics gave her raves for “coming back” this week. I don’t think she had ever gone anywhere to begin with. While the last few weeks haven’t been as enchanting as the start of the competition, that could just as easily be due to the fact that she her style of singing isn’t new to us anymore. She’s powered through almost every round, and neither she nor Lee have ever ended up in the bottom 3. The only thing I see stopping her from making it into the finale would be if her fans become complacent or if someone else has a last minute surge… (same as last week)

3. Casey James – To stay in the competition, Casey had to do something bold that would get people voting for him again…and that he did. Sure, it was the easy route. By singing about cougars, he will undoubtedly go down in Idol history as one of the biggest manipulators since Kristy Lee tried to stir up some guilt votes from her patriotic, country-loving fans. However, I can’t argue with the logic. Casey knows his audience and plays to it. We’ll see if he can do it again next week to build up his momentum and upset the two frontrunners. (same as last week)

Next week’s “judge’s choice/contestant’s choice” round is always one of the season’s hardest. It’s incredibly difficult to pick the right song so that isn’t too easy but also not so hard that it sinks you so close to the end. Thankfully, I won’t have to make any decisions– well, almost none. Making the choice of who should go home may be just as difficult.